Document handling apparatus



Y Minh 1o, 1964 @mi A. WEIDENHAMMER 3,124,352 Y, I' nocuuENT HANDLING APPARATUS Filed June 14. 1961 /f/rf//m y JAMES A. WEIDENHAMMER March l0, 1964 A 1. A. WEIDENHA'MMER 3,124,352

DOCUMENT HANDLING APPARATUS Filed June 14, 1961V I2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent O This invention relates to apparatus for handling documents, such as business machine forms or checks, and

relates more particularly to apparatus of the above'general type embodying means for decelerating documents just prior to stacking, in :order to prevent damage thereto and misalignmentuthereof as-they are advanced to aA stacker at high speed.

As document transport speeds have been increased to increase the throughput rate of data processing machines, it has become more dificult to stack the documents in neatly aligned fashion and without damage. If the leading edges of the documents strike the end walls of the stacker pockets at high speed, these edges can readily become damaged due to the high impact velocity. Also,

the documents will tend to rebound orl bounce back from the end walls, with the result that their leading edges will not be neatly aligned. u

Accordingly, itis the principal object of this invention v to provide a document handling apparatus embodying means for decelerating successive documents as they serially approach a preselected location, such as the pocket of a stacking device.

v I Another object is to provide a document decelerating mechanism which is mechanically conditioned and con` I trolled by thev document itself and is not rendered effecftive until the trailing edge of the document passes a various documents;

,A further object is to provide a document decelerating mechanism of the above general type capable of functioning with documents of random varying lengths and widths, as well as with documents of uniform size.

According to these objects, the document handling apparatuscomprises one idler roll and'one driven roll which cooperate to drive a document at one speed along a given path and into a space between another idler roll and another driven roll'that are arranged less than a document length downpath from said one rolls. A rockable support arm carries both idler rolls, the one idler roll being nearer the pivot forA the arm than the other idler roll. Thus, when-a document enters between said one rolls, the one idler roll will be displaced slightly by the document and thereby rock the support arm to spread the other idler arm a correspondingly greater distance away from its driven roll. Hence, while a document is between the one rolls, the other rolls will be ineffective to exert any driving force on the document. However` when the trailing edge of the document passes out of the nip of said one rolls, the support arm will be resiliently biased to cause the document to be pinched between said other rolls. Since the other driven roll tends to drive the document at a much slower speed than said one speed, the document will be electively decelerated after it leaves said one rolls and just prior to its being deposited on a stack in the pocket. -A dellector spring is preferably provided yat the exit end of thedecelerating rolls to urge the docuing more particular description of preferred embodiments ICC a of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanyinggdraw-I ings.

In the drawings: FIG. 1 is a plan view of a document handlinggapparatus. constructed according to one embodiment,loffthe-invens tion; i FIG. 2 is an elevationalsection viewtak'enalon'g-thcr line 2 2 of FIG. 1; and: f Y y 1 y FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view illustrating;-arlnmd-ifed1Y embodiment of the invention. The document handling apparatus-shownn-FIGSLL l? and 2 and embodying the invention `comprises anfiidle'rfroll landa driven roll 2 which cooperate to drive succes-A sive documents along a defined feed path Ailtf-ther-direc# j tion of arrow 4 'and into the spacebetween.antidlern'olli 5 and a cooperating driven roll 6. Roll- 2Ifprfcrablygxis.: driven at a surface velocity, approximately equalto-thbvelocity at which the documentl is received byzrolls-'l;7 in other words, at approximately the. mainitrans krtfV velocity at which the documents are advancedthrough the machine by main transport rolls- (notshown). Rolli 6, however, is driven at a surface velocityy whichi's sub.-A i "stantially less than that of roll 2. The nip` ofTrOlls-.S 6@

is downpath of the nip of rolls 1,l 2:a.distancetwhicli:-is less than the minimum length of any documentswliich are handled bythe apparatus, so'that.atthe instantheav trailing edge of each document leaves the. nip''ofji'olls'j-- 1, 2 it will be within the nip of rollssg 6-'f'fr reasons.-

presently to be described. v. The rolls 2, 6 are driven by any suitabletrneans; Asf illustrated in FIG. l, a drive shaft 7'drives.axp\illey8f.'

12, 13 which, in turn, drive rolls 2, 6",v respectively;

Means are preferably providedto bow-thegdocuments':

in a direction transverse of the.feed'path-.ineorderato n- A crease their rigidity. This is especiallyximportant'and desirable when the documents are flimsy, such-as` bank checks. This means may comprise two rolls-- 14%. each' driven by shaft 12 and mounted at opposite sides of'roll 2; and two rolls 15 each driven by shaft 13 andmounted at opposite sides of roll 6. Because the bowing rolls 14; 15 are larger than the rolls 2, 6, and because the. latter are closely spaced. the rolls 14 are offset from and extend between'the rolls 154 Idler rolls 1, 5 are carried on pins which. project. through the bifurcated arm of a lever 16 lthat is rockably supported on a fixed pin 17. Roll 1 is closerto pin 17` than roll 5. Hence. when a document'entersvbetween rolls 1 and 2, the roll 1 and hence lever 16 will `b'erocked. clockwise relative to pin 17 a distancecorrespondingeto the thickness of the doucmentvand thusmove'N idler rollV 5 a somewhat greater distance away from roll'6.' When spread this greater distance, rolls 5 and-6are:prevcnted from effectively pinching and retarding thefdocuntent.'l Pin 17 and the support pins for rolls 1 and 5 -are preferably, so'located with respect to each other thatfwhenfnosdocument is present between rolls 1, 2 or 5; 6,.the."idlet"'frnllsfI I, 5 will lconcurrently contact their respective-.drivenrollsf 2, 6 under action of a spring 18 that'biasesV leverf 16'` counterclockwise about pin 17. 'u

The location of the fulcrum pin 17 canv bel adjusted accurately by an adjusting mechanism 19-r that"A is: like,V that used. to adjust the position of lawn mowerbl'ades: relative to the shear plate. u

l The apparatus also preferably comprisesande-tleetoxspring 20 whichextends down into the 'feedf'patlratgthe'v exit side of rolls 5, 6. This spring is securedat=oncend to a bifurcated sensing arm 21. Dueftofits. inherent: resiliency, this spring normally projects .downwardtowutd` a stacker platform 22 and to a lower limibpositin;y in

- which it is shown in FIG. 2. Thespringqmay-"ben' the'- 3 form of apiece of piano wire having two similar strands which pass up through and then loop over and down through a pair of slots 23 extending through arm 2l.

The sensing arm 21 is of a type heretofore proposed and used in reader-sorter apparatus for bank checks and therefore will be but briefly described. The arm 21 is carried by and rigidly secured to a shaft 25 that is journaled in suitable bearings. One portion of the shaft is in the nature of a plug valve or cock forming part of a valve mechanism 26. As documents tend to accumulate -on platform .22, arm 21 is raised and rocksvshaft and valve 25 clockwise to release uid under pressure from a fluid pressure motor (not shown) to lower support rod 27 and hence the platform 22. As the platform is lowered, arm 21 and valve 25. will rock slightly counterclockwise to bottle up fluid under pressure in the motor and thus halt the descent of platform 22. In this manner, the sensing arm will operate the valve 25 as necessary to maintain the top document on platform 22 at a substantially constant height.

In operation, documents 3 are fed and/or diverted from .the main transport path by suitable means (not `shown) and'guided by suitable guides 28,` 29 into the nip of rolls 1 and 2. As the document enters the nip, it dsplaces roll 1 slightly and, by rocking lever 16, displaces roll 5 far enough from roll to prevent rolls 5, 6 from pinching and retarding the document. Thus, rolls 1, 2 will drive the document at approximately the main transport speed vwithout interference from rolls 5, 6, until the trailing edge of the document leaves the nip of rolls 1, 2. Spring 18 will then bias lever 16 counterclockwise and bring roll 5 into pinching contact with the document so that it will .now be driven at the lesser surface speed of roll 6 and thus effectively retarded or decelerated while within said rolls. l.Meanwhile, as the document passes through rolls l,

2 and 5, 6, it will be bowed transversely by the enlarged bowing rolls 14, 15 to increase its rigidity. Hence, as the leading edge of the document leaves rolls 5, 6 and contacts spring 20, it will be sufficiently rigid to swing said spring upward toward arm 21 and store energy in the spring. As thedocument continues to move away from the rolls, its leading edge will be directed under the lower tip of the sensing arm 21.` As soon as the trailing edge of the document leaves rolls 5, 6, spring 20 will be freed. As this spring snaps down, it will strike a deflecting blow on the trailingportion of the document to promptly deect it out of the path of a succeeding document.

Referring now to FIG. 3, parts shown in this figure which correspond to those shown and fully described in connection with the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 will be designated by similar reference numerals, but primed to indicate that they are not necessarily identical. Ac-

cording to this second embodiment,` since shafts 12', 13' are close together, rolls 2', 6' are offset so that they may be of larger diameter and thus permit lower rotational velocities than the corresponding rolls 2, 6 in order to give required surface velocities. Also, the arm 16' (instead of being in the nature of a. bell crank, like lever 16) is pivotally connected to a fulcrum pin 17'; and the spring i A18' applies a pressure between the rolls 5', 6.

It is to be noted that the rolls 1, 2 desirably serve .two distinct purposes: namely, to maintain the document Iup to speed before it is to be decelerated and also provide a displaceable member (roll 1) that, through a displacement responsive means 16, de-activates the decelerating vor retarding means 5, 6 by moving roll 5 away from roll 6. The arrangement herein disclosed is preferable because, by driving the roll 2, suflicient force is generated to effectively displace roll 1 against resistance of spring 18,. If theforce of spring 18 is reduced too much, roll will not be pinched enough against roll 6, and this will impair the retarding action of rolls 5, 6.

However, if desired, roll 2 may bc eliminated and guide 29 extended downpath to provide a surface contacted by roll 1 when no document is between roll 1 and the extended guide or between rolls 5, 6. This roll 1 would then be displaced in the same manner as above explained when the document is advanced between it and the extended guide 29. On the other hand, the documents may be driven by a driven roll uppath of the displaccable means or roll 1.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in form and details mayy be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. In a document handling apparatus wherein doellments are advanced serially along a defined path, the combination of document driving means, a displaceable member forming part of said driving means and extending into the path of the documents and physically displaced by a document whenever any part of thc document is at a certain point along said path, decelerating means disposed less than one document length downpath of said point and operable to decelerate the documents to a speed substantially lower than that at which they pass by the displaceable member. means providing a positive mechanical connection between the displaceablel member and decelerating means and responsive to displacement of said displaceable member to render the decelerating means ineffective, and means including the connection-providing means for rendering said decelerating means effective as soon as the trailing edge of the document passes said point and thus passes by and out of contact with said displaceable member. Y

2. Document handling apparatus comprising means for advancing documents serially at one speed along a defined path, said means including displaeeable means comprising an idler roll of a pair of mating feed rolls, said idler roll extending into the path of the documents and being physically displaced by a document whenever any part thereof is in the nip of said rolls` retarding means for reducing the speed of each document substantiallybelow said one speed, said rctarding means including another pair of mating rolls disposed less than one document length downpath of said nip. means responsive to displacement of said idler roll to spread said other rolls to render them ineffective to retard the document, and means operative as soon as the trailing edge of the document leaves said nip to activate the last-introduced means to move said other rolls relatively together so they will pinch and effectively retard said document.

3. Document handling apparatus comprising one idler roll and one driven roll which cooperate to drive a document at one speed along a given path, another idler roll and another driven roll arranged less than a document length downpath from said one rolls and adapted to pinch and drive the document at a slower speed, support means carrying the idler rolls. and means rockably biasing the support means about a pivot in a direction tending to effect contact of the respective idler rolls with their driven rolls, the pivot being spaced closer to the one idler roll than to said other idler roll so that when a document is between said one rolls said other rolls will be spread a degree sufficient to prevent them from effectively pinching the document, whereas as soon as the trailing edge of the document passes beyond said one rolls, said other rolls will pinch and retard said document until it is advanced therepast.

4. Document handling apparatus comprising two sels of matable rolls spaced less than a document length apart along a predetermined feed path, one set comprising at least one driven roll for driving a document at one speed, and the other set being downpath of said one set and comprising at least one driven roll tending to drive the document at a slower speed to retardl the document, means displaccable by a document and responsive to the presence of a document within the nip of said one set to spread the rolls of said other set enough to prevent them from effectively contacting the document, and means operative after the trailing edge of the document leaves the nip of said one set to cause the rolls of said other set to effectively pinch and reduce the speed of the document.

5. Document handling apparatus comprising one set of contactable elements at least one of which is driven for advancing a document along a defined path at one speed, another set of contaetable elements at least one of which is driven and tending to advance the document at'a lesser speed, the nip of said other set being spaced less than the length of the document downpath from the nip of said one setsuch that the document will be in the nip of said other set prior to and when itstrailing edge leaves the nip of said one set, a rockable support member carrying respective one elements of each set at difierent distances from a pivot such that while the document is between said one set it will rock said member to space the elements of said other set suiciently to prevent them from effectively contacting the document, and means for urging said member toward the respective other elements of each set thereby to cause the document to be effectively pinched and retarded by said other set as soon as the trailing edge of said document leaves said one set.

` 6. Apparatus capable of altering the speed of sheets 'of random varying lengths, said apparatus comprising means, including a pair of mating feed rolls, for advancing sheets successively at one speed along a defined path; one of said rolls extending into the path of the sheets and being physically displaced by each successive sheet .whenever any part thereof is in the nip of said rolls; means for receiving a sheet from said rolls and advancing it at a speed different from said one speed, and including another pair of mating rolls disposed less than the minimum length of any sheet downpath of said nip; means responsive to displacement of said one roll to spread said other pair of rolls to render them ineffective to advance such sheet; and means operative as soon as the trailing edge of each sheet leaves said nip to move said other pair of rolls relatively together so they will pinch and effectively advance such sheet at said different speed.

7. Apparatus capable of altering the speed of successive sheets of random varying lengths as they are advanced successively along a defined path, the combination of first sheet-driving means including a displaceable member extending into the path of the sheets and physically displaced by each successive sheet whenever any part thereof is part a certain point along said-path; second sheet-driving means disposed less than the minimum length of any single sheet' downpath of 4said point and operable to drive successive sheets at a speed significantly different than that at which they are driven by the first means; means providing a positive mechanical connection v between the displaceable member and second sheet-driving means and responsive to displacement of said displaceable member to render said sheet-driving means ineffective; and means including the connection-providing means for rendering said second sheet-driving means effective as UNITED STATES" PATENTS Re. 25,()09 Buss July 18, 1961 1,837,241 Van Buren Dec. 22, 1931 2,464,823

Mallot Mar. 22, 1949 

1. IN A DOCUMENT HANDLING APPARATUS WHEREIN DOCUMENTS ARE ADVANCED SERIALLY ALONG A DEFINED PATH, THE COMBINATION OF DOCUMENT DRIVING MEANS, A DISPLACEABLE MEMBER FORMING PART OF SAID DRIVING MEANS AND EXTENDING INTO THE PATH OF THE DOCUMENTS AND PHYSICALLY DISPLACED BY A DOCUMENT WHENEVER ANY PART OF THE DOCUMENT IS AT A CERTAIN POINT ALONG SAID PATH, DECELERATING MEANS DISPOSED LESS THAN ONE DOCUMENT LENGTH DOWNPATH OF SAID POINT AND OPERABLE TO DECELERATE THE DOCUMENTS TO A SPEED SUBSTANTIALLY LOWER THAN THAT AT WHICH THEY PASS BY THE DISPLACEABLE MEMBER, MEANS PROVIDING A POSITIVE MECHANICAL CONNECTION BETWEEN THE DISPLACEABLE MEMBER AND DECELERATING MEANS AND RESPONSIVE TO DISPLACEMENT OR SAID DISPLACEABLE MEMBER TO RENDER THE DECELERATING MEANS INEFFECTIVE, AND MEANS INCLUDING THE CONNECTION-PROVIDING MEANS FOR RENDERING SAID DECELERATING MEANS EFFECTIVE AS SOON AS THE TRAILING EDGE OF THE DOCUMENT PASSES SAID POINT AND THUS PASSES BY AND OUT OF CONTACT WITH SAID DISPLACEABLE MEMBER. 